|
HTML
Hypertext Markup Language is the foundation of World
Wide Web. The web is a gigantic storehouse of information written in billions
of interconnected pages. The pages are written using the language HTML.
HTML documents are ASCII files with embedded codes for logical markup,
format (text styles, document titles, paragraphs, tables) and hyperlinks.
Browsers (Netscape, Internet Explorers etc.) can read and interpret HTML
codes. HTML is not a programming language but a mark-up language with
hyperlinks for easy navigation.
For more information on HTML, please see 'More Information'.
What is a successful site ?
All successful sites have one
thing in common - they all are useful ! Your site is successful when people
perceive it as 'useful' and visit regularly. Now what would make someone
to visit your site regularly ? Yes, you have guessed it right - the content.
The content of your site should not only be attractive but regularly updated
to make people return again and again. Apart from content (which we really
can not comment) there are 10 major elements that will contribute significantly
towards the success of your site.
10 elements that make
your web-site successful
1. Overall Look
Your home page is your billboard or store front-- it creates an immediate
impression on visitors to your site, so it's got to create the right impression.
It should look:
Clean
Uncluttered
Professional
Attractive
Aim to "underwhelm" rather than overwhelm ! Too many flashing lights,
colours, drop-down boxes, graphics etc. will be distracting. It's a
bit like those stores that play loud, frenetic music--your heart rate
rises, your stress levels go up and you just want to get out--fast!
2. Message
Whether you have a business site or a personal page, you have to give
people a reason to stay on your site. That doesn't mean that you have
to give away free programs, books, tickets or holidays--it does mean
that you have to offer something. That "something" could be:
Information
Entertainment
Advice
Help with a problem
Opportunities to contact similarly
minded people
Links to useful sites
In addition, you need to give information about your product or service
that is:
easy to follow
easy to find
easy to order
3. Speed
We all know that speed is the key to keeping visitors. Though it is
normal to experience delay at times (making some to rename WWW as World
Wide Wait !) people DO get impatient if it takes too long to make contact--so
you must ensure that your home page at least, loads as quickly as possible.
That means no big, flash graphics.
Keep reminding yourself that your first page is like a billboard. When
driving your car, you don't have time to read detailed descriptions,
or admire intricate pictures on billboards. The signs flash past you
and have to make an immediate impression.
Your web visitors are 'flashing past' as well, so keep your front page
simple and fast.
There are numerous articles on the net about how to improve speed--take
the time to check them out and then discard anything that slows down
your home page too much.
4. Graphics and Lay-out
The graphics and lay-out of your home page contribute to that first
impression--think about what image your site is trying to convey and
make sure everything on your site contributes something towards that
overall image.
If you have a serious business site, you don't want garish cartoons
on your front page--but if you have a games site, then cartoons can
be an integral part of the image.
Graphics are what eat up the loading time of your site. A rough rule
of thumb to determine good loading time for a page is to keep the entire
page around 30K.
Images should be between 6 and 8K. Each additional 2K adds approximately
one second to loading time. If in doubt, right click the image and then
click on "Properties" to get the size of the image.
Colour is also an important part of your site; colours have different
effects on our emotions: Red and orange excite the senses and increase
heartbeat, Blues and greens are more restful, Yellow reminds us of sunshine
and is a happy colour
Consider the effect you want to create and choose a colour that is appropriate.
When reading Western texts, the eye travels from the top left of the
page, across and then down to the bottom right. Remember this when you're
placing graphics on your page.
Any graphic which has a directional aspect should be placed to point
the eye towards the most important section of the page. If you have
a picture of a bird on the top left corner of your page, make sure it
is facing inward and that its beak is leading the eye to the centre
of the page, not away from it.
The same applies to all graphics:
Faces should 'look' to the centre of the page
Cars should be 'parked' facing towards the centre of the page
Roads, neck ties etc should all be placed to lead the eye across from
left to right, or down from top to bottom
This is also why you should place your navigation bars down the left
side of your page - it keeps them constantly in the visitor's field
of vision.
|
5.
Text Readability
This doesn't refer to the words you use
(we'll look at them in detail later) --but to the way the words look on
the page. Going back to the concept of the billboard, your words need
to stand out on your page- you need to surround them with plenty of white
space.
Think over some of the sites you've visited--some make you feel as if
you have to duck your head to read them! Dark backgrounds make you feel
as if you're in a small space and also have a depressing effect on your
mood.
Certain coloured backgrounds make it very difficult to read the text;
purples, orange tonings and reds dazzle the eyes.
The colour of your text is just as important--bear in mind that different
browsers read colours differently--what looks great on your browser could
well be invisible on another !
Take a lesson from the newspapers and divide your text into columns for
easier (and quicker) reading--even two columns are better than one slab
of text that covers the entire width of the page.
Another element that contributes to text readability is the font you choose.
Plain fonts (Arial, Times New Roman, Garamond and Courier) are the easiest
to read. Fancy fonts are fine for headings, but not for full pages (imagine
trying to read a whole page in Gothic, Script, Westminster, or Cloister).
Your eyes would soon tire of the effort involved and you'd be reaching
for the back button !
6. Page 'Skimmability'
You have to make your page as easy for
your visitors to read as is humanly possible and this means breaking it
up into little 'chunks' for them. We've already looked at the need for
columns, (which divide the page vertically); you also need to divide your
page horizontally, through the use of headings and sub-headings.
When you were at school, your teachers told you to use headings in your
notes--apply the same principles to your web pages. Look for the key points
on each page and write a short statement that summarises each point--this
is your heading.
Read through each section and see if it can be further divided into smaller
points. Write a summary of these sub-sections and these are your sub-headings.
7. Fonts
Select a font for all your headings and
sub-headings (and stick to it). It's not necessary to have a different
font for headings (just go up one size for headings, and then use bold
on all headings and sub-headings).
This way it's easy to recognise which is a heading (large and bold) and
which is a sub-heading (same size but bold). The point of this is to make
it easy for your visitors to glance at your page and to take in all the
key points. If what they see interests them, they'll stay and keep reading--so
it goes without saying that your headings should be written with care
!
To draw attention to other important points, you can also highlight them
by putting a whole sentence in bold or a different colour (or both). However,
take care with the colours you select: some are quite difficult to read--even
against a white background.
8. Navigation
Your main navigation bar should run down
the left side of your page, for two reasons:
We're accustomed to reading from left to right and from top to bottom
We're accustomed to finding navigation bars on the left of web pages--
why buck the system (especially when it works)?
On a long page it's also a good idea to have a brief nav bar along the
bottom of the page (just home | top of page will suffice).
When you've found a system you're happy with, use it on every page so
that your visitors know where to look for the information. Make a blank
page which has your page layout (columns), any logos or standardised graphics,
alt tags and navigation bars already built in. Call this 'blank" and then
when you make a new page, you have everything already set up and just
have to enter the content, html tags and then save it as "whatever.htm".
9. Privacy Statement and Testimonials
As your site is a business site, one of the most
important things you have to do is to ensure that your potential customers
feel confident dealing with you. On the web, you do this by telling people
exactly what you're doing to safeguard their interests--in particular,
how you're protecting their privacy. It's worth having a separate page
which sets out, in detail, your policy towards their email addresses;
how you accept orders; how you gather information; who has access to this
information; how you use information gathered from children and so on.
Visitors also like to know that real people have used your products or
services, so it's worth asking your satisfied customers if you can quote
any positive comments they've made about you. Don't be afraid to ask for
testimonials--we all like to know that our opinions are valued.
10. Words
Now we come to the most important element. If this part is wrong, the
rest of your efforts are largely wasted. How many times have you been
impressed by a site's initial appearance, only to be disappointed by poor
spelling, careless grammar and punctuation?
It reflects badly on the site owner and indicates that whoever is responsible
for this page is sloppy, careless, lazy, unprofessional or all of the
above ! Would you entrust any of your hard-earned money to someone who
doesn't even care enough to check the expression of his/her own
site?
You can take steps to improve
your own writing skills
You can employ someone to proofread
and edit your work
You can employ someone to write
your pages for you
There are places that will assist you with any or all of these steps.
Don't spoil all your hard work by skipping this one, vital step! Browse
through these other articles to read how you can improve the writing
on your web site.
|
